1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in devices that are useful for placing derailed cars and locomotives back onto the track.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In the operation of railroads, it is sometimes the case where railroad cars, including locomotives, become derailed as they are moving along the track. The derailment of the railroad cars is often a result of uneven loads being carried by the cars, the condition of the track, or other factors. A common cause of the derailing of railroad cars is due to the cars rocking back and forth on the tracks. The rocking may cause one or more of the cars, in particular a wheel of the car, to rock off of the rail of the track. When a car is off the track, the locomotive that is pulling or pushing the derailed car will usually possess sufficient power to continue to move the car along the track, but with the derailed car wheel or wheels being dragged along with the other cars. The derailed car generally may find itself being dragged through the gravel ballast of the track bed, or along the ties. Aside from requiring more power and energy to pull the derailed car, there is a risk of danger or injury should the derailed wheel encounter an obstruction that would impede it from continuing to move along in the direction in which it is being pulled by the locomotive. For example, where a derailed car encounters a switch, the switch may direct the derailed car in a direction different than that of the locomotive or the other cars. Even the contact of the derailed wheel with the gravel, ties or other structure has the potential to cause decoupling of the derailed car from other cars.
Traditionally, rerailers have been employed as a way to address the problem of derailed cars. Rerailers are placed along the tracks to urge the derailed wheel back onto the track. Typically, rerailers consist of a metal casting that is slotted and positioned over or next to the rail near the wheel of a derailed train car. The train engine then pushes or pulls the derailed car so that the derailed wheel runs up the rerailer and is guided back onto the track. U.S. Pat. No. 349,783, issued on Sep. 28, 1886 to E. Campbell for a “Railway Frog”, discloses an arrangement of inclined plates to guide derailed wheels to the rails of the track. The '783 patent discloses a length of the frogs are thirty feet. The frogs are disclosed to be formed from short sections to facilitate handling. This means that they must be joined together when they are installed or prior to installation.
A railroad rerailer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,504, issued on Dec. 22, 1981 to Leslie E. Charles. The '504 patent discloses a stationary railroad rerailing apparatus for rerailing derailed cars while the train is moving. The '504 patent discloses the use of an inclined pad of a cushioning penetrable material, such as asphalt-aggregate material, for raising the derailed car, and rigid wedges outside the track rails for cooperating with the inclined pad to raise the derailed wheels above the level of the track rails and into a rerailed position. The '504 patent requires that inner rail sections be installed, and that wedges be used to urge the derailed wheel onto the track rail.
The prior devices involve considerable installation procedures and are heavy to transport and install. Some prior devices include a body with a ramp and guide flanges that allow the derailed car to be raised and pushed toward the track rail so that the wheels end up realigned on the track rail. Because the devices must raise the railroad car or locomotive, the devices must be very strong, since they need to support the railroad car or a locomotive, which could weigh up to about 420,000 lbs. In order for the prior rerailer devices to possess the strength sufficient to accommodate multiple rerailments, the devices are constructed from high tensile strength alloy steel. Even the light weight rerailers for 90 to 150 lbs. rail, weigh between 125 and 165 lbs., while heavier models may weight upwards of 150 to 190 lbs.
Rail or track is generally measured in weight per unit of length. In the United States, for example, the rail weight is generally expressed in lbs. per yard. It is common for the rail to be expressed or referred to as lbs. For example, 132 lb rail is generally 132 lbs./yd. Rerailers are used with a variety of rail weights and sizes. Rerailers may be used with track weights from about 40 lbs to 155 lbs or greater. Non-permanent type rerailers that are used with 90 to 155 lb rail are generally well over 100 lbs. in weight. The rerailers, for example, may weigh about 124 lbs., with some non-permanent rerailers weighing in excess of 150 or 200 lbs. This makes for difficult lifting and transport of the rerailers from a location to the site of the track location where the vehicle to be rerailed is located. In addition, for safety reasons a number of railroads have mandated 50 lbs per person lifting limit. This weight limit therefore requires that rerailers weighing 150 lbs. need to be carried by at least three people, and heavier rerailers may require up to 5 people to lift and transport them. The current rerailers require costs and difficulty to move and transport.
For safety and ease of transportation and installation a need exists for a lighter weight device that may be used for rerailing derailed railroad vehicles.